County Shelves New-home Fee

Commission Hopes

State Legislature

Will Tackle Problem

People building new homes won't got socked with a new county fee - at least not for the next six months.

Unable to agree on the best way to collect an interim services fee, which would add up to $1,000 to the cost of a new house, commissioners agreed to shelve the much-discussed proposal.

Instead of continuing to debate the measure, which is opposed by the construction and real estate industries, commissioners agreed to wait to see if the state Legislature takes care of the problem for them.

If the Legislature would pass a law that would allow counties to send tax bills to people shortly after they move into new homes, the problem would be resolved, said Commissioner Karen Marcus.

Because the Legislature for years has rejected the proposal, the interim services fee is the only means the commission has to force new home builders to pay for county services during the first year they move into a house.

The way the property tax system works, only homes that exist as of Jan. 1 are taxed the following year. That means if someone moves into a new home on Jan. 2, the new owner won't get a tax bill until November of the next year and will receive county services for free for 22 months.

As proposed, home builders would have been charged $14 to $27 a month if their home is in a city and $43 to $57 per month if the home is in the unincorporated area. The total would have to be paid before the county would issue a certificate that allows people to move into new homes, according to the proposal.

The fee would raise about $1.7 million annually, county budget-writers predicted.

However, builders said, they are tired of being the county's collection agency. They already collect building permits, impact and other county fees.

In addition, builders and real estate agents said, a new fee is the last thing they need.

"We're coming out of a recession, and we felt this will impose another burden on us," said Len Tylka of the Goldcoast Builders Association.

A bill that has been rejected by the Legislature for at least five years would allow the county to send new home owners a mid-year tax bill, which would remove builders from the collection process.